CHAPTER VIII : EDUCATION AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN AL-QODS AL-SHAREEF

Before the Ayyubid and the Mameluke eras, the formal education process in Al-Qods Al-Shareef took place in mosques and oratories, as the custom was in all countries of the Islamic world. However, this does not mean that special schools for the teaching of non-religious subjects did not exist.

Schools, in the modern sense of this term, appeared in Bilâd Al-Shâm (present day Syria and Palestine) in the Nurid era, which preceded the Ayyubid reign. These were instituted possibly through the influence of the An-Nidhâmiyya School, which was created in Baghdad by Seljuk Minister Nidhâm Al-Moulûk. In any case, the custom of setting up a special building as the locus of each school began way back in the Nurid era. Likewise, each school had its curriculum, its instructors, and its students; also, to cover such expenses as staff remuneration, pious endowments were instituted to provide funds on a regular basis. Most of these schools were boarding schools. (323) The Arabic education curriculum in Al-Qods has evolved throughout the centuries down to this day. After the Zionist occupation of Al-Qods in 1967, the Israeli authorities took a number of decisions concerning the Arabic education curriculum in this city. (324) They thus proceeded to suppress the Arabic curriculum used in the educational institutions of Al-Qods and impose the curriculum they had introduced in 1948 in the Arab schools throughout the occupied areas. This substitution was particularly imposed after the illegal annexation of Al-Qods to the state of Israel, despite the fact that the Director of Education, the headmasters, the teachers, and the learners throughout the city refused to follow these Israeli measures. One immediate consequence of this situation was a drop in the number of Arab schools, teachers, and learners. The 323. Adam Metz, Islamic Civilization in the Fourth Century of the Hegira, or The Renaissance Era of Islam, Vol.1, p. 318 (Translated to Arabic by Muhammad Abdulhâdî Abû-Rîda).

A. Metz, on the basis of all the information he has collected, demonstrates that the first school -- properly speaking -- was instituted in Nissâbûr and that it was built by Abû-Isshâq Al-Asfarâyînî (d. 418 A.H./1027 A.D.). On the other hand, Al-Maqrîzî, in his work, Al-Khoutat, Vol. 2, p. 363, reports that the first school built in Nissâbûr was Al-Bayhaqiyya School, built by Al-Bayhaqî (d. 454 A../1062 A.D.). Furthermore, Ad-Dhahabî claims that the first school in the Islamic world was An-Nizâmiyya, located in Baghdad.

324. Cf. Bulletin of the Royal Commission for the Affairs of Al-Qods, n° 106, (1983) p. 13.

effect of this drop was that some degree of flexibility was shown on the part of the Israeli authorities, who accordingly allowed the native religious schools to carry on the Arabic education curriculum.

However, the relatively small number of these native schools, combined with the high cost of maintaining them, ultimately made some of these institutions' officials adopt the Israeli measures while most of the students from these schools sought, and were denied, the opportunity to carry on their Arabic studies in the Arab West Bank. In the face of this denial, the Arab population of Al-Qods protested and denounced the measures which deprived their sons and daughters of attending Arabic universities, hence of getting jobs in Arabic countries. The Israeli authorities consequently reversed their decision and allowed the students from Al-Qods to register in West Bank educational institutions. (325)

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN AL-QODS

The city of Al-Qods stands out among other Palestinian cities as the centre of higher education in Palestine throughout the British Mandate. Al-Koulliyya Al-Arabiyya (The Arab faculty) and Al-Koulliyya Ar-Rashîdiyya both povided a complementary two-year undergraduate programme for students who already hold the 'Matriculation' diploma.

The programme of studies at Al-Koulliyya Al-'Arabiyya was designed to train the students as prospective teachers of primary school classes as well as of classes at the junior secondary school level. On the other hand, Al-Koulliyya Ar-Rashîdiyya offered a curriculum which prepared students for the study of medicine, mathematics, or other branches of science. (326) Over the academic year 1945-46, the student population at Al-Koulliyya Al-'Arabiyya was 166, including 19 senior students. That of Al-Koulliyya Ar-Rashîdiyya in the same year was 310 students, including 26 senior students. (327) In addition to the above-named higher education institutions, Al-Qods could boast a School of Law offering a Programme covering five years of study.

Among other admission requirements, the applicants had to hold the General 325. Bulletin of the Royal Commission, Ibid., pp. 15 and 16.

326. Bulletin of the Royal Commission for the Affairs of Al-Qods, n° 10.

327. Ibid., p. 33.

Certificate of Education. At one time, it had a population of 553 students, including twenty female Jewish students. (328) From 1923 on, Palestinian Arabs have tried on many occasions to create a State University of Palestine, but the British authorities discouraged their project and ultimately opposed it. Although these Palestinians continued to cherish this dream and demanded equal treatment by the British authorities, who allowed the Jews to found the Hebrew University in 1925, the British throughout their mandate remained opposed to the creation of such a university. (329) The Palestinians, however, did not give up their dream and thus asked to create a university in Al-Qods immediately after Palestine was divided up in 1948. However, this university was finally created -not in Al-Qods, but in Amman, for "logical reasons" as the phrase went at the time.

The higher education institutions located in Al-Qods today are as follows :

- Koulliyyat Ad-Da'wah wa Oussûl Ad-Dîn (The College of Theology) :

This College was created in 1978 and is located in the building used also as the locus of the Institute for the Training of Primary School Teachers; this building is the property of the Association of Beit Hanîna Residents. This institution offers a Programme leading to the Bachelor degree. In 1982, its teaching staff were ten in number, of whom two hold a doctoral degree, seven hold a Master's degree, and one holds a Bachelor's degree. Over academic year 1981-82, this Faculty had a population of 237 students, of whom 139 were male students.

- The Science and Technology College (Abû-Dîss, Al-Qods) :

Initially founded in 1970 as Al-Ma'had Al-'Arabî (The Arab Institute), it was renamed as The College of Science and Technology in 1977. It had some difficulties which made it close down for a short time, but it reopened in 1981. (330) This faculty has a Board of Trustees composed of eighteen members.

This Faculty has four departments (mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology), and offers courses leading to a Bachelor's degree in these fields and to a Teacher Training Diploma. In 1982, this institution had fifteen teaching staff members, of whom four hold a doctoral degree, three hold a Master's degree, 328. Ibid., p. 33

329. Ibid., p. 33.

330. Sâlih Abduljawâd (1982), The Specific Problems of Higher Education Institutions in the West Bank and Ghaza, pp. 21-22

and eight hold a Bachelor's degree. In this same year, it had a population of sixty students. (331)

- The Arab College for Medical Training (in Al-Beira) :

This institution was founded in 1979 under the initial name of "The Arab College of Medicine" and comprises the School of Nursing, the School of Health Science, Medical Lab Testing, and Hygiene. It offers courses leading to the Bachelors's degree and has a teaching staff consisting of two members with a Doctoral degree, thirteen with a Master's degree, and eleven with a Bachelor's degree.

In addition to the above-mentioned Colleges, Al-Qods also has Al-Ma'had Ash-Shar'î (The Institute of Shari'a Law Sciences), which was founded in 1975 as an extension of the institute by the same name in Amman. Additionally, there are various training schools here and there in Al-Qods, like the School of Hospital Nurses, which is attached to Mustashfâ Al-Maqâssid Al-Khayriyya (The Charity Hospital), and the School of Nursing, attached to the International Lutheran Union in Al-Qods. (332) Arabs and Muslims alike still hope that the above-named institutions will serve as the core of a future university in their city. However, the Israeli authorities persist in their opposition to this project in spite of UNESCO's resolution, in favour of the instituting of such a university.

331. Sâlih Abduljawâd, Ibid., p. 22

- Cf. The Fourth Annual Report (1983) of the Association of the Friends of the Arab Institute in Amman.

332. Sâlih Abduljawâd, Ibid p. 23

The west gallery of Al-Haram Al-Shareef